Sleeping or otherwise resting in a transportation vehicle, such as an airplane, automobile or train can result in pain and stiffness in the neck. Seats on airplanes, cars, trains and buses do not provide specific support for the head and cervical area of the user. This is because users vary in height, proportion and in the severity in the curvature of the neck. Thus, travel pillows are commonly used by passengers to provide increased comfort while riding in such a vehicle.
However, many travel pillows on the market today do not take into account the physical attributes of a human user. While in a typical seated position, the upper part of the body from the torso up to the head is in a mainly vertical position and the muscles of the body are employed and constantly adjust to keep the components of the spine and head balanced and aligned in a vertical column. If a headrest is provided, then the head is supported rearward. During deep rest or sleep, the muscles of the body are entirely relaxed and do not support the vertical positions of the head and neck. Therefore, the force of gravity acting on the head causes it to lean to one side or the other resulting in lateral bending of the neck and causing prolonged strain/stress in the ligaments of the neck and the muscles that support it which induce headaches and pain or stiffness in the neck.
Also, many travel pillows available today are fully inflatable. Such pillows can be difficult, if not impossible, for many users to utilize. It can be very difficult to fully inflate such pillows, especially for the very elderly or ill. Such inflatable pillows also do not provide rigid support that is required to keep the head in the optimal upright position while keeping the device compact.
One such travel pillow available is that disclosed in US2009/0211032A1, which is comprised of three separate shapes that are held together with a bag in different configurations. The shapes are two separate left and right elongated support members and a collapsible connector or intermediate section that transversely spans the distance between the two. Two left and right members are sufficiently flexible such that they are bendable to conform to a particular person's dimensions in the head and neck region. During use, the two members will pull closer toward each other as pressure from a resting head is applied to the middle of the device. Thus, the travel pillow is generally ‘bendable’.
Many head supporting pillows are excessively large and therefore are not conducive to modern travel. In efforts by airlines to enhance efficiency, space on commercial airliners is extremely confined and the size and number of carry on items is becoming increasingly limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,538 to Fidge is an asymmetrical apparatus which supports the head and neck. It comprises a cushion that extends upwardly from at least one of the user's shoulders to at least a portion of the one of the user's ears. The support can include means for varying both the size and shape of the cushion so that its dimensions can be varied during use by an individual user and configured for use by many individuals, thus forcing the user to remain always in the same position. Such device is configured such that it supports the weight of the head by supporting the side of the face and transferring this weight to the shoulder thereby moving the center of gravity of the head away from the saggital plane. One embodiment provides an inflatable bladder designed to enhance the comfort of the user by varying the shape and compressibility of the device while in use. Furthermore the inflatable bladder used is not designed nor is it intended to act as an active device that will affect the user's posture nor is such bladder purposely sized, shaped and placed to specifically affect the natural lordotic curve of the cervical spine and the relative positions head, neck and thoracic areas of the user. There are a number of devices that use trapped air but these elements are intended to enhance the fit and comfort of the surface of the device against the body and do not actively or are purposely designed to alter the anatomical positions of the parts of the body to create new weight bearing relationships between the spine, the occiput and the seat headrest.
There are a number of devices that serve to stabilize movement in the neck but they are mainly for orthopedic treatment and highly restrictive. They are not intended for healthy persons who need freedom of movement, support for the head and breathability for the skin in order to remain comfortable.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,129; 4,854,306 to Pujals, Jr and 4,034,747 to Leroy are described as cervical collars and are related to an orthopedic or medical apparatus rather than a pillow. These devices limit the user's mobility and restrain the user from rotating the head from side to side without moving the rest of the upper body. Furthermore these devices do not allow the user to move their heads side to side while maintaining the center of gravity along the saggital plane and without disturbing the upper torso area. Neither do they allow the user to rest his/her head directly against a car/airplane/train headrest portion of the seat thus pushing the head further forward than originally intended by the seat designer resulting in tension in the cervical area of the spine and possibly encouraging the head to fall forward if the user is asleep or in a state of deep relaxation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,129; 4,854,306 & 4,562,833 to Pujals, Jr are described as a contoured neck brace/collar and cervical orthopedic devices. These collars are best described as orthopedic devices which are used in the treatment and therapy of cervical injuries and traumas. Rigid devices such as these are designed to restrict cervical motion considerably, thus allowing the user to rest without furthering the injuries and allowing them to heal. Patent '833 discloses a device which is held in place by a collar and is not specifically shaped such that it can be held comfortably and securely in between a seat back and the user's upper thoracic region. Furthermore patents '129 & '306 do not allow the user to move or rotate their head side to side while maintaining the center of gravity in balance along the saggital plane and/or without disturbing the upper torso area. Neither do they allow the user to rest his/her head directly against a car/airplane/train headrest portion of the seat thus pushing the head further forward than originally intended resulting in tension in the cervical area of the neck. Furthermore these devices do not have an inflatable bladder acting as a device that actively pushes the middle cervical region forward and backward, relative to the occiput and the thoracic region of the spine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,081 to Price; U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,747 to Leroy; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,700 to Liu; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,129; 4,854,306 and 4,562,833 to Pujals, Jr include a back panel which follows the contour of the occiput between the ears and the posterior and lateral neck area. These devices clearly do not allow the user to rest his/her head directly against a car/airplane/train headrest portion of the seat thus pushing the head further forward than originally intended resulting in tension in the cervical area of the spine and possibly encouraging the head to fall forward if the user is asleep or in a state of deep relaxation. Furthermore the devices of '081, '747, '700, '129, '306 and '833 do not have an inflatable bladder acting as an active device that pushes the middle cervical region forward, relative to the occiput and thoracic region of the spine
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,747 to Leroy is described as a cervical collar which applies body heat to the area of treatment and minimizes pressure upon the brachial plexus. Furthermore the '747 device is made of a flexible and conformable material. It is not constructed of a semi rigid plastic shell nor does it provide any cervical or head support.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,781 to Ramsbottom et al. while providing neck support is made of a compressive mould material having memory characteristics. This device is not constructed of a semi rigid plastic shell nor does it provide any head support to prevent lateral bending of the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,607 to Smith is claimed to be a head clip pillow designed for being worn about the neck of a user to cover the user's ears in order to eliminate a substantial portion of ambient noise. This device is not constructed of a semi rigid plastic shell and does prevent the user's head from falling to the sides or forward when the user is asleep or in a state of deep relaxation, thus resulting in tension in the cervical area of the spine and neck muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,554 to Zahiri discloses an apparatus to support the posterior aspect of the upper and lower portion of the upper thoracic portion of the spine so that the head and neck will remain supported while the individual is asleep. However, the weight of the head is supported by the mastoid processes of the skull. Such devices restrict free movement of the head as it would cause localized pressure on non-matching surfaces of the skull and soft tissue such as the ears, jaw and neck muscles if the user's head is turned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,603 to Cumberland discloses a cervical traction apparatus. Traction is the use of a pulling force to treat muscle and skeleton disorders. All medical traction devices are designed for the purpose of separating the bones of the neck and various parts of the body to elongate the joints in order to relieve pressure. This device cannot function in an upright seated position without the aid of additional straps or other head restraining mechanisms and does not prevent lateral bending of the cervical spine.